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Archives for September 2005

BlackBerry Cool has new real BlackBerry 8700 picture submitted to them by someone who claims to have used the ‘BlackBerry Electron’ for a few weeks of trial.

I took this pic with my Nokia 6820, so the quality is horrible. I used the device, made calls, sent emails etc. Its a great product. The screen is unbelievably sharp, and covered by a hard glass/plastic cover, not the same vulnerable screen as on previous blackberries.

We first blogged about the NTB Free BlackBerry offer back at the beginning of August. Basically, you had to buy four tires and you could get a free BlackBerry from T-Mobile. Based on the original deal, you had to buy the tires during the month of August and submit your request by today, September 30th. I just heard a commercial this morning stating that you have until this Sunday to still get a free BlackBerry, so, if you are going to buy tires anyway this weekend, and want a BlackBerry, this is your last chance to get one for free from National Tire and Battery.

Just so you know, I don’t see the offer on the NTB.com website any longer. Make sure you ask to make sure that I didn’t just hear an old commercial. Also, take a look at the comments from the initial NTB Free BlackBerry offer. I guess that there were some hoops that customers wanting the free BlackBerry had to jump through.

With the Research in Motion Q2 earnings call and the thought of new devices taking the forefront in the BlackBerry news world, we didn’t notice that on the 28th of September, the U. S. Patent and Trade Office rejected the last of eight patents issued to NTP, the Virginia based holding company that has been entrenched in legal battles with RIM for years.

I don’t normally report how Research in Motion does in the market each day but I am definately interested in seeing how RIM fairs today, after a 9% dip yesterday. 5 of the now 8 patents overturned built the foundation for the patent infringement rulings in NTP’s favor against RIM.

In a 106-page ruling written by three senior examiners, the Patent Office cited two main reasons for its rejection. First, it cited a patent filed by RIM co-founder and CEO Mike Lazaridis in 1998 that predated NTP’s patent application from 1999. “That Patent Office is saying that it was not NTP that had invented this, but that it was RIM,” says RIM attorney Long. Second, it cited other work dating to 1986 and 1989 by Norwegian telecommunications concern Telenor, that predates the NTP patents.

With these patents being rejected, NTP will have to appeal the Patent Office’s rulings without making any changes to the claims. Making changes to the claims would give RIM grounds to argue for a new Trial. The last thing NTP wants to do have to retry the case. RIM has already filed a petition for the re-hearing of the case at the federal circuit court based on the rejections by the Patent Office of NTP’s patents. RIM has stated that they will take this battle all the way to the U. S. Supreme court if needed.

There have been a lot of rumors flying around the BlackBerry world in the passed few weeks and I have done my fair share of water cooler talk, but, after yesterday’s earnings call, we should probably take a look at the score card and see what rumors were fact, what rumors were fiction, and what rumors still should be rumors.

Lets start with the biggest rumors first and work ourselves down the list.

BlackBerry 8700 to be announced — Well, we got this one completely wrong, however, there is still hope. This thing may yet still come out in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Lets keep this marked down as a rumor.

BlackBerry Connect for the Palm Treo — This one will have to stay in the rumor category. I thought this one would have been a sure thing for yesterday seeing how just weeks before the earnings call, Jim Balsillie, RIM co-CEO, was quoted saying that Blackberry Connect for the Treo was coming out this fall.

BlackBerry 7100i — Didn’t really think that this one was coming out yesterday. Now I am wondering if it will even be called the 7100i or instead, maybe the 7105i.

There may be more rumors that were proven true or debunked based on yesterday’s call but I think that these were the major ones. The next BlackBerry Rumor-Mill post that I put here on RIMarkable will probably be about the new BlackBerry that will have:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infra-red, and smoke signals

Run Windows Vista for BlackBerry

Have SDio and mini SD slots on the top and a Mini Blue-Ray disk slot at the bottom

Solar powered battery charger with a fuel-cell configuration for Alaska during the winter months

AM / FM turner with XM satellite receiver

Fine Corinthean leather carrying case

Built-in iPod didn’t make the list becasue Steve Jobs wanted to change the name to the iBlackBerry.

Looks like T-Mobile has a new BlackBerry coming out soon. The first carrier to bring you the 7100 series BlackBerry may be the first to bring you the next version, the BlackBerry 7105t. An email led Russell Shaw from BBHub to check out Collider.com and low and behold, there is a new candybar style BlackBerry being released next Monday, October 3rd.

The new 7105t looks similar to the 7100t but will sport a better screen that makes it easier to see in daylight and countoured keys.

After all the speculation and all the rumors, one of Research in Motion’s poorest kept secrets, the BlackBerry 8700, what we have known for months as the BlackBerry Electron, was a not officially announced. It looks like all the BlackBerry lovers eagerly awaiting the release of the most anticipated BlackBerry release since the 7100T will have to wait just a bit longer.

The non-announcement is not as bad as it seems. It’s kind of like the last day of school. We know it’s coming but just can’t wait for it to get here. During yesterday’s earnings call, which you can listen to here, Jim Balsillie, RIM co-CEO, said that Research in Motion’s new device roadmap is fundamentally focused in late October and early November so we know that the official announcement has to be in the coming weeks.

Research in Motion and Cingular today introduced BlackBerry Connect to the United States on the Nokia 9300 smartphone. All I have to say is, “It’s about Time!” Cingular Wireless is the first U. S. carrier to offer BlackBerry wireless services on third-party handsets.

I am not really sure why it took so long for BlackBerry Connect to come to the U.S. but now that it is here, I am sure that the other carriers will be soon to follow. If, and more likely, when BlackBerry Connect catches on here in the U. S., the overall business model for BlackBerry may start to morph. Currently RIM makes two thirds of it’s revenue off of BlackBerry unit sales. Now that you can essentially get BlackBerry service on many devices, the model may change from hardware vendor first and service provider second, to the visa versa.

I am not business trends expert but I would be willing to bet that there are much higher margins in BlackBerry service as compared to unit sales. The BlackBerry brand has cult appeal second only to the iPod. If RIM plays their cards right, they can still sell the BlackBerry handheld devices like mad, and ingrain BES into corporate America even more so than it already is by offering front running corporate email to a mobile workforce on any, or at least many, hardware platforms.

Research in Motion, maker of the popular BlackBerry wireless email device, will host a Second Quarter Fiscal 2006 Results Conference Call today at 5:00 PM Eastern. You can listen to the call with Windows Media Player here.

Yesterday we blogged about a deal between Research in Motion and Intel to use the “Herman” processor in Next-Generation BlackBerry devices.

Here is more on that deal from RIM President and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis:

Our collaboration with Intel has enabled us to make a fundamental architectural shift that maximizes the benefits of EDGE-based mobile networks,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “We chose the Intel PXA9xx cellular processor because it provides us with the increased processing horsepower we need for future wireless applications, without compromising battery life requirements. The combination of Intel’s XScale technology with RIM’s wireless firmware and BlackBerry applications is groundbreaking. Working with Intel, we will continue to build on the strong BlackBerry value proposition of delivering mobile business applications with a compelling user experience.

All the news buzzing around Research in Motion’s Ontario based headquarters is undoubtedly about the official announcement of the BlackBerry 8700 that hopefully will come later today. The long feature list, however, subtly hints to something that could be big news for other BlackBerry models.

BlackBerry OS 4.1 will be released as well. One of the key features of BlackBerry OS 4.1 is enhanced Bluetooth support for the v2.0 Protocol stack and a serial profile for PC connectivity that would allow for wireless PC Synch. That’s right boys and girls. Synch your BlackBerry to your PC via Bluetooth.

Now, I don’t know if this will be the case for BlackBerry devices other than the 8700. One can only hope. As long as we are hoping, however, lets hope that you can use Bluetooth to connect your BlackBerry as a wireless modem to your laptop as well. I don’t think that I will hold my breath on that one.